I’m writing to thank you for your haunting memoir, Dreams from My Father, which I enjoyed immensely. Please find enclosed a small thank-you gift: A signed copy of my recently published memoir, Fast Times in Palestine.

The aim of the book is to enlighten Americans about the reality of life under Israeli occupation in a way anyone can relate to and even enjoy. I modeled it after Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that didn’t try to pontificate about the evils of slavery but rather displayed these evils in a gripping story full of love, beauty, suspense, cruelty, and deeply human characters, and was therefore able to reach and move broad audiences.

I hope you enjoy this book, and I hope it will inspire you to support Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans who value dignity, equality, and genuine security for all peoples.

I understand why you feel constrained to support the same policies as your predecessors. But I think you know in your heart that this is a dead-end road that effectively supports Israel’s self-destructive occupation and needlessly endangers Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans. A more even-handed approach based on international law will no doubt be politically difficult. But your principled leadership on this issue would be warmly appreciated by millions — and I daresay by generations.